Bayou

Bayou

A bayou (pronounced IPA| [ˈbaɪ oʊ] or IPA| [ˈbaɪ uː] ) is a small, slow-moving stream or creek, or a lake or pool (bayou lake) that lies in an abandoned channel of a stream. Bayous are usually located in relatively flat, low-lying areas, for example, in the Mississippi River delta region of the southern United States. A bayou is frequently a slackwater anabranch or minor braid of a braided channel, that is moving with less velocity than the mainstem. Many bayous are the home of crawfish, certain species of shrimp, other shellfish, and catfish.

The word was first used by the English in Louisiana and is thought to originate from the Choctaw word "bayuk", which means "small stream." The first settlements of Acadians in southern Louisiana were near Bayou Lafourche and Bayou des Ecores, which led to a close association of the bayou with Cajun culture.

Bayou Country is most closely associated with Cajun and Creole cultural groups native to the Gulf Coast region generally stretching from Houston, Texas, to Mobile, Alabama, with its center in New Orleans, Louisiana.

An alternate spelling "buyou" has also been used, as in the "Pine Buyou" used in a description by Congress in 1833 of Arkansas Territory.

Bayous are often the setting of horror movies since they are commonly seen as spooky and mysterious. Some famous horror movies that are associated or take place in bayous include "The Skeleton Key", "Hatchet", and "The Reaping".

ee also

* Wetland
* Slough
* Swamp
* Hurricane on the Bayou

Famous bayous

* Bayou Bartholomew
* Bayou Lafourche
* Cypress Bayou
* Bayou St. John
* Devil's Bayou (fictional)
* Big Bayou Canot
* Buffalo Bayou


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • bayou — bayou …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • Bayou — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Intersección del Bayou Teche y de una parte del río Atachafalaya, cerca de Patterson (Luisiana) …   Wikipedia Español

  • bayou — [ baju ] n. m. • bayouk 1699; mot indien bajuk « rivière » ♦ En Louisiane et dans le bas Mississippi, Eaux peu profondes à faible courant, ou stagnantes (bras secondaire de rivière, méandre abandonné). ⇒ marigot. Traverser des bayous. ● bayou nom …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Bayou — Bay ou, n.; pl. {Bayous}. [North Am. Indian bayuk, in F. spelling bayouc, bayouque.] An inlet from the Gulf of Mexico, from a lake, or from a large river, sometimes sluggish, sometimes without perceptible movement except from tide and wind.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • bayou — BAYÓU s. f. 1. canal ce traversează terenurile mlăştinoase. 2. lac în formă de semicerc pe bucla unui meandru. (< fr., engl. bayou) Trimis de raduborza, 15.09.2007. Sursa: MDN …   Dicționar Român

  • Bayou — (Bayoo, spr. bai u, verderbt aus franz. boyau, Darm), in der nordamerikan. Union, besonders in der Golfniederung, Bezeichnung für den Abfluß eines Sees oder den schleichenden Nebenarm eines Flusses oder auch für tief in das Land sich erstreckende …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • bayou — 1766, via Louisiana French, from Choctaw bayuk small stream …   Etymology dictionary

  • bayou — ☆ bayou [bī′o͞o΄; ] also [ bī′ō΄ ] n. [AmFr < Choctaw bayuk, small stream] in some parts of the S U.S., a sluggish, marshy inlet or outlet of a lake, river, etc …   English World dictionary

  • Bayou — Le Bayou Cypress dans le comté de Jefferson au Texas autre région de bayous …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Bayou — Der Big Cypress Bayou bei Jefferson, Texas Der …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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